NEW YORK – Illumina announced Monday the funding of nine companies as part of its accelerator programs in the US and the UK.
During the six-month funding cycle, the participants will receive an undisclosed amount of seed investment, access to Illumina sequencing systems and reagents, and lab space adjacent to Illumina's Bay Area and Cambridge, UK campuses, respectively, as well as access to guidance and expertise.
Illumina also announced it has secured £20 million ($27.5 million) in commitments that would match between £500,000 and £4 million in new capital raised by Illumina Accelerator Cambridge graduates within a year. The funding includes £10 million from LifeArc.
The new cohort includes several firms developing diagnostics or genomics tools.
BiotaX Labs, a spinoff of Israel's Technion Research and Development Foundation, is focusing on microbiome-based diagnostics and treatments.
Broken String Biosciences, from Cardiff, UK, is developing a platform of novel sequencing tools to assess genome stability.
MultiplAI Health, a diagnostics company with roots in London and Buenos Aires is leveraging advances in genomics and artificial intelligence to develop universal remote screening for cardiovascular diseases.
Oshun Medical, a diagnostics company from the Bay Area focusing on women's health, is working to predict pregnancy complications.
Illumina Accelerator has invested in more than 45 genomics startups from across the globe, which have collectively raised nearly $600 million in venture capital funding. Last month, Illumina announced it would be partnering with Sequoia Capital China on a genomics incubator in China.